And while the opening 25 minutes saw the Three Lions push, press and have much of the territorial advantage, the old adage of international football - that you must score when you're on top - came home to roost, as Germany claimed a 1-0 win .

Per Mertesacker's towering header from a centre by the imperious Toni Kroos handed Die Mannschaft the lead and from then on they never looked like losing it.

While German keeper Roman Weidenfeller went untested - England didn't manager a single shot on target - Joe Hart was called upon to make a number of good stops, most notably from Marco Reus and Mario Gotze.

Bayern Munich star Kroos was named man of the match as he dictated the whole show from a pocket in midfield, while Gotze was at his impish best throughout also.